When it comes to passwords, having a popular one certainly isn’t a good thing. So, if you’re current password is 123456, you should probably think about changing it – as it’s been awarded the most popular password in both Australia and the world.
Google policy manager Samantha Yorke appeared on Sunrise this morning to speak about the importance of cyber security for Australians, “Globally and in Australia [123456 is the most popular password]. And the second most popular password was the word “Password. Both studies were conducted by NordPass,” she shared.
These are the top 20 more common passwords in Australia:
123456
password
lizottes
password1
123456789
12345
abc123
qwerty
12345678
holden
charlie
1234567
qwerty1
111111
dragon
1234
1234567890
qwerty123
australia
princess
Despite the simple passwords, statistics have shown that Australians are taking their cyber security very seriously in recent times. The number of people searching “weak password” has jumped 160% in the past year, and searches for the term “compromised password” and “password manager” have both spiked 40%.
Yorke also shared some tips about how Australians can be vigilant about their cyber security.
“Look it’s not very hard we know that most Australians, 60%, are not taking proactive steps to try and make their security strong,” she said on the show.
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“But, there are some very simple things you can do. Use a password manager… It will prompt you with a new password and remember that password so that you don’t have to.
“Another one is using two-step authentication, which is a fancy way of basically saying use two steps to get into all of your online accounts. One could be your password, and the other will be the answer to a question, or a code that’s sent to you on your mobile. Just that step alone will exponentially increase the security of your online interactions.
“And, lastly just look for that little padlock sign in your browser address bar. Because that tells you that the site you are going to is secure and using the best security standards.”
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